*Plin...* *Plin...* *Pliiin...*

The sound of the piano echoed through the music room. Alen was deeply immersed in his playing when he suddenly heard a soft whisper right beside his ear.

"My dear..."

Alen felt a chill run down his spine. The hair on his arms stood up, and goosebumps climbed over his skin. He turned back immediately without wasting a second.

[Body Strengthening!]

He imbued a massive amount of mana into his fist and spun around to punch whatever was behind him. But as he turned back, there was nothing there.

Alen felt a sense of dread.

’What was that voice? It couldn’t be an illusion, could it? It felt like someone was really standing right behind me and whispering.’

Alen shook his head to wipe away the lingering fear in his mind. He stood up. He couldn’t waste his time playing the piano in a so-called haunted house; he had to leave this place and complete the trial.

He walked toward the door, but to his surprise, it wouldn’t open. He tried to push it with all his force, but it was useless.

"What happened suddenly? Did someone trap me? Is it another illusion spell or something else?"

*Tchh!*

[Body Strengthening!]

He kicked the door with immense force, totally shattering the heavy wood.

*BOOM!* *SHATTER!*

As the door broke apart, Alen stepped out.

As he walked through the corridor, he suddenly caught the aroma of tasty food. It smelled so incredibly good that Alen was entirely drawn in by the illusion of a hot meal. It had been so long since Alen had eaten a proper dinner that he couldn’t control himself and walked toward the scent.

But as he walked, his thoughts began to clear.

’Why is there a smell of cooking? Does anyone live here?’

’It’s possible. There is no way undead can eat normal food, so maybe someone does live here. But if they do, do they know I am here? Is that person the one who locked me in the room?’

As questions flooded his mind, he became more curious and cautious about this place. The dining room was right there on the first floor. As he walked slowly without making a sound, the aroma of the food became denser. Alen slowly entered the room.

*Creak—*

As Alen opened the door, he saw a sprawling dining room that was completely different from any other room he had seen so far. It was luxurious, with a large round table, several chairs, and plates arranged in a proper manner. The room was spacious, and there was bright light inside—not the dim candlelight from the hallway, but real light powered by magic. It illuminated the entire dining room.

Alen stepped in.

"Is anyone here?" he called out.

He saw various dishes arranged on the table. It looked like a large banquet was about to commence; there were dozens of chairs and various types of fresh food items.

Alen walked slowly toward the kitchen. The door was open. He stepped inside.

"Hello, is anyone here?"

’Damn! I feel like the over-curious male lead of some horror drama who tries to explore the creepy place which everyone else runs away from.’

’Should I praise myself for my bravery or beat myself up for my lack of caution?’

’Damn! Over-curiosity is going to get me killed one day.’

As Alen looked around, he found no one there. He walked further inside to check, but it was completely empty. There was no sign of anyone cooking food, either. Alen felt extremely confused now.

"What is happening here...?"

Alen decided to go back. As he came out of the kitchen, the aroma of the delicious food hit him again.

*Growl~*

Even his stomach protested, urging him to eat.

Alen felt conflicted by his own thoughts. On one hand, he wanted to grab all the plates and eat every dish on the table; that was how starving he currently felt. But on the other hand, he didn’t want to lose his composure and blindly eat whatever was presented to him.

What if the food was poisoned? What if he died right after eating it?

He remembered a rule his mom used to say:

"Never eat anything a stranger gives you."

Of course, there wasn’t a stranger here handing him food, but finding a fresh feast inside a weird mansion in the middle of The Forest of Dead was incredibly suspicious.

But as the aroma reached his nose again, he couldn’t hold back anymore. He went over to the dining table, sat down, and served several kinds of food onto his plate.

After he was done serving himself, he picked up a spoon. But just as he was about to take his first bite, the spoon mistakenly slipped from his fingers.

*CLANG!*

He bent down and picked it up from the floor. But when he looked back up at the table, his eyes widened in immense shock.

In front of him, all of the luxurious dishes were gone. In their place were the severed parts of humans, monsters, and other unknown creatures, served directly on the silver platters. He looked down at the food he had picked for his own plate: there were animal eyes, a human foot, and a monster’s heart. None of it was even cooked.

Alen snapped out of it and fell backward out of his chair. He quickly scrambled up.

"What the fu*k is Happening here? Damn it!"

His eyes darted to the other chairs around the table. Various people were sitting in them, but they were all dead and half-eaten. Their skin was rotted and dried, with bare bones revealed. It looked so disgusting that Alen almost couldn’t hold back his vomit.

He stepped backward and started to run from this place. He rushed out of the dining room and sprinted down the corridor toward the ground floor stairs. But as he looked down the steps, his already pale face paled three times more...

Blood was flowing down the stairs. The entire hall on the ground floor was covered in a literal pool of blood. He looked for the skeletons that had once been hanging from the ceiling; now, every single one of them was on the floor, twitching and moving.

"Fuck, did they turn into undead?"

"I have to get out of here."

But as the undead heard his footsteps, their hollow eye sockets snapped toward him.

*KRRREEEEEEEAAAK—!*

Every single undead lunged forward. Alen didn’t waste any time. He started to run.

But as he ran, he realized he couldn’t cross the distance to the exit. He was caught in the illusion again! 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Fuck! Do I have no choice but to fight them?"

"Then that’s it. There’s nothing else to do..."

[Body Strengthening!]

He kicked off the ground and dashed toward the horde. Alen raised his fist and punched the first one with immense strength, then pivoted on his left leg and kicked the undead creeping up behind him.

*BOOM!*

The first undead’s body slammed into the wall, dragging two others down with it. Alen didn’t pause. He dashed toward another monster. His body felt incredibly light. When he had faced the first undead in the forest, it had required significantly more effort, but now, it took far less power. He punched one of the creatures and immediately launched himself backward.

*BOOM!*

But even after throwing several of them back, more kept coming. There were hundreds of undead in the hall. It was nearly impossible for him to handle them all with just his bare fists.

He dodged as another undead dashed wildly toward him. They were completely mindless creatures, attracted only by the slightest sound. Suddenly, Alen thought of a trick.

As he dodged, he grabbed a vase from a nearby table and threw it into the distance, aiming for the complete opposite side of the hall.

*CRASH!*

Half of the undead horde was instantly attracted to the sound. Alen then kicked the undead right in front of him to create space, but several more lunged at him at a fast pace.

Alen drew a massive amount of mana into his fist. This time, he didn’t just strengthen his body; he let the mana flow and gather in his hand freely.

[Mana Flow: Concentration!]

With a large amount of pure mana flowing through his fist, Alen launched his attack, punching with highly concentrated energy.

*BOOM!*

As the punch directly hit the undead, a massive blast of mana erupted. It completely shattered the monster’s bones, passing right through the creature and blasting away all the nearby opponents.

The sheer force of the blast shattered the upper floor itself. Alen’s body fell straight down to the ground floor as wooden planks and debris rained over him.

[Body Strengthening!]

*SHATTER!*

Fortunately, he protected himself from the falling debris just in time. He stood up and wiped the dust from his eyes. The fight wasn’t over. There were still many undead left in the ruined hall, and he had already exhausted more than 50% of his mana.